“If those guys start in those positions then congratulations to Arsenal”: Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola names THREE changes Mikel Arteta must make against PSG next week
Arsenal’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League was a serious blow to their hopes of reaching the final.
Mikel Arteta has been punching above his station for most of the campaign considering the absences he’s had to deal with.
The fact the Gunners are even second and in their second semi-final of the season is quite mad. Yet, with the second leg coming with only a one-goal deficit, it remains all to play for and changes can be made.
Arteta needs to change things going into this match in order to get the best from his side again, and put the French team under considerably more threat than they felt in the Emirates. While chances were created, they were not taken, and there are ways this can be altered.
Thomas Partey returns
The big positive is the return of Thomas Partey to the side after he served his suspension after receiving a silly booking toward the end of the clash with Real Madrid. Unable to keep his composure, he reacted after a clash, pushing Dani Ceballos to the floor and earning a yellow card.
Partey has been key to this Arsenal team’s better performances, and his absence is typically associated with a downturn in win percentage. His return will also allow Declan Rice to return to his box-to-box position in the midfield.
Mikel Merino up top
Leandro Trossard has been in decent form and had the best chance of the game for the Gunners, only just tipped round the post by Gianluigi Donnarumma. However, Mikel Merino is just a better fit for what Mikel Arteta wants from his Arsenal attack.
It works better with a target man figure in the front line, and Merino has been excellent for this, whether it be goals or assists. He has set up both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in the Bernabeu and will look to repeat this next week in the French capital.
Martin Odegaard problem
The issue Arsenal have right now is that their main creative spark, Martin Odegaard, has been out of form for the majority of this season. That again showed glaringly against PSG on Tuesday, and it leaves Mikel Arteta with a choice.
Ethan Nwaneri came off the bench late on for the skipper with Bukayo Saka moving into the central attacking position. This is an option but the more likely scenario is Odegaard will start but perhaps might come off the field sooner if his output does not improve.
